Heart of Ice
by Autumn Leaf Ninja
Summary: A timid, trusting she-cat got the surprise of her life when she met a tom that swapped her once-peaceful life for one edged with paranoia and fear.


I was a fool for even considering trusting that strange cat. I was a fool for taking him to meet my Clan leader. I was a fool for giving him an opportunity to join my Clan.

My name is Minnowpool. I was born in a small Clan by a running stream called DewClan. It's a rainy place packed with rogues that banded together to stand a better chance in the wild. I was kitted and raised among these cats. They've always called themselves "warriors".

At first I couldn't believe that they were willing to kill other cats that were in their territory to keep everything in order. That's not the type of cat _I_ was, at least. I don't believe that any cat should die, whether they deserve it or not. So when I met Sandstripe, the cat who changed my life, I was completely dumbfounded and lost for words. Death was something I never thought I could deserve.

Sandstripe was a pale ginger tom with light green eyes that always shone like dewy blades of grass. I met him on the edge of DewClan territory, beyond the stream, at a shady spot that has a plentitude of water voles. Although I've been eating mainly fish throughout my life, I've always preferred water voles. That's why I was there alone, and why I got to meet Sandstripe.

His name used to be Dust, and I often found myself calling him that instead the name he'd received after joining the Clan. I remember that the first words he ever said to me were pertaining to my shimmery silver pelt. He'd said, "I know you Clan cats eat fish a lot, but I never expected that you would _look_ so much like one."

I was offended, of course, but I did not retort, instead ordering him to get off DewClan territory. He ignored me and requested to meet my leader. I asked him why, but he wouldn't tell me. At the sound of a patrol nearing, I panicked and snuck him around the approaching cats and to the camp. What else was I to do? I was already nine moons old at the time, but I was a very nervous and timid young she-cat.

The other cats in camp stared, glared and hissed at Dust for intruding, and at me as well for bringing him, but I ignored them and went down the passage to the leader's den. I hesitated at the entrance, but strode in despite the butterflies in my belly.

"Hailstar," I called, "I've brought a visitor for you."

The massive, frightening, brown- and black-furred tabby tom had been asleep. He woke up and got to his paws as his two guests approached. With a cautious glance at Dust from his ice-blue eyes, and after staring silently and somewhat accusingly at me for what seemed like forever, he waved his tail for us to approach.

"What is it?" Hailstar demanded. "Who is this strange cat, Minnowpaw?"

"H-he w-wanted to see you," I stammered, my tongue half-frozen even though it was the middle of green-leaf. I've always been terrified of Hailstar. Over the course of my entire life, he has been the only cat that has been able to make me freeze with fear.

"Who is he?" he demanded once again.

"I-I don't know. I-I-I found him at the edge of the territory where I was hunting, past the stream." My silver fur fluffed up. I have no idea why Hailstar was always a source of fear for me, but he was.

Hailstar grunted, acknowledging my words, but did not look at me again. Now he was looking at Dust. He asked, "Have you come to join us? What is your name?" He sounded less hostile now, at least, but was still horribly intimidating.

"My name is Dust," the pale ginger tom said, "and I'm guessing you're Hailstar." The DewClan leader nodded curtly. "You're correct. I have come in the hopes of joining your noble Clan."

I blinked at him in surprise. Was this the same cat who had mocked me not much earlier? He seemed so proper and formal now. Despite his drastic personality change, he still looked the same. I told myself then to be careful around him. He seemed… two-faced, almost. Well, he did to me, the untrusting one, anyway.

Dust was given a brief training period in which he was taught the ways of a Clan cat. He was given his warrior name before I was given mine. It was then that he became Sandstripe, and it was then that an ego came forth.

On the day that I had my final assessment before my warrior ceremony, he asked me to walk with him. It was then that he thanked me for bringing him to DewClan. Then he told me something. He said that he wanted to lead DewClan, and that in order to repay his debt to me, I would be his deputy.

I refused abruptly. There was no ambition in my heart. Sandstripe, however, saw this as me rejecting what he probably saw as kindness, and was cold to me for a long while afterward. That same day, I failed my warrior assessment when a tree fell over the spot where I'd buried my bundle of prey and completely covered it and masked the scents. I had been standing right next to it.

My next assessment was about a quarter-moon after. I failed it after a giant branch snapped from a large tree and nearly crushed me. I managed to leap out of the way in time, but I was unable to continue my hunt because I was shaky and unnerved, crunching loudly on leaves accidentally and unintentionally leaping to the opposite side of the stream to avoid casting my shadow over the water even though I was on the right side initially.

My third assessment was a success. I managed to earn my warrior name, Minnowpool. However, the other cats did not respect me as much as they respected most other warriors. They accused me of failing my assessments on purpose because I was unwilling to kill to protect and defend my Clan. I argued that they were wrong.

Despite the difficulty from my Clan-mates, I was content and proud of myself. I was finally a warrior, and it was about time. I was seventeen moons old already. After a half-moon had passed since I was named a warrior, our deputy was mysteriously killed. His body was found in the icy leaf-bare stream. Sandstripe, who had recently received his own apprentice, was eligible to become the deputy, and the entire Clan agreed. That is, counting me out, of course. He was too ambitious for me to even consider approving of Hailstar's choice in choosing him.

It was a quarter-moon after Sandstripe's appointment that he requested to speak to me again. "Minnowpool," he said, "hunt with me." There were so many cats around, and I got nervous for some reason, so I agreed.

Once we were beside the stream, we sat silently, trying not to alert the few fish in the near-frozen stream to our presence. "Can you keep a secret?" Sandstripe breathed close to my ear, startling me out of my pelt at the realization of how close he was. I gulped audibly and nodded. What secret could he possibly have? "I killed the deputy to take his position. Had you guessed that yet, Minnowpool?"

And I had. I had already figured that he was capable of doing that. He was just too sneaky and ambitious. I suddenly felt as though my safety was jeopardized, but made no attempt to move away from him.

"I'm telling you this just in case you decide to tell someone. Your potential suspicions were correct. However, in order to be positive that you'll keep quiet, something must be done." His words were soft like the snow on the ground around us.

In a flash, I was tossed into the stream with his paws pushing my head below the water. I opened my jaws to scream, but my mouth quickly filled with water. Once I was unconscious, my body was held under the water until it became invisible under the ice. I was frozen alive so easily and quickly.

Not long after my death, while the Clan was still mourning their loss of a warrior, Hailstar mysteriously vanished, and the whereabouts of him throughout his last three lives remained a mystery to everyone. Sandstripe became Sandstar, getting exactly what he wanted. I shut out the living world then, not wanting nor watching to see who his deputy would be. My faith in DewClan ebbed as the memory of me and my short life eventually faded away.

**This is my first challenge for SecretClan, the "Literally Frozen" challenge. I hope everyone enjoyed it. :) Let me know what you think!**


End file.
